1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to a container providing a closed compartment for receiving items such as floppy diskettes, computer data tapes on reels or cartridges, video game cartridges, audio tapes on reels or cartridges, video tapes on reels or cartridges, photographic film on reels or cartridges, phonograph records and the like which should be stored in a dust-free environment. Particularly, the container of the invention provides a light weight, inexpensive storage case for the above items which has a unique closure and slide arrangement whereby when the closure is opened, the slide upon which the stored item rests is indexed in an outward direction so that the item is moved partially out of the storage compartment so that its edge may be grasped to remove it from the storage compartment formed by the container. The container also provides an organizing capability for stored items since each container may be connected to a plurality of identical containers to form a self-contained storage unit.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Storage containers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,162,112; 4,339,162 and 4,270,817. However, none of these patents discloses a container having a front closure member so that the item stored in the storage compartment of the container is protected from dust. This is extremely important with expensive disks and computer data tapes on both reels and cartridges because of the importance of the information which is stored thereon. Additionally, many of the prior art containers utilize a separate mechanical mechanism for biasing the second item out of the storage compartment, and such adds to the expense of the container and to the likelihood of breakage. Typical of such an arrangement are the containers disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,162,112; 4,270,817 and 4,275,943.